Matters of the Heart
by Hope of the Future
Summary: After winning the 'Final Killing Game' and saving the world, Makoto wanted nothing more than to settle down with his longtime crush, Kyoko Kirigiri, even if they haven't ever been on a date. But, that proves to be an issue when forgotten feelings of a dead woman begin to stir within him and forces his heart to fight for truth: Does he love Kirigiri...or Junko? (Post DR 3)


The sun was out, cities were booming with people, all smiles on their faces...

In any other world, this would be a normal sight.

In this world, however, it was unnatural, yet not unwelcome.

This was the reward they had gotten for finally defeating Despair.

Junko Enoshima had no more back-up plans, no one on her side, nothing. There was no way the happy ending they worked so hard for could be ruined, and _he_ genuinely believed that.

He, in this case, being Makoto Naegi, who was doing nothing but walking along the street to take in the sights. The world had been 'fixed' months ago at the base of Future Foundation, a group who had done anything and everything in their power to save mankind from the aftermath of 'The Tragedy'. Unfortunately, many had died there, but they were still able to overcome the last challenge Despair had thrown at them and, ultimately, save the world.

To him, he wouldn't have believed it if he wasn't there. Not if he hadn't lost so many friends, and gone through so much. The story between Hope and Despair had ended, so now...

Peace.

What was he doing with this newfound peace, you may ask? A number of things, all important, of course. For one, scouting out students for _New Hope's Peak Academy._ Secondly, taking in the great new world they fought for. And thirdly...

Naegi gulped audibly as he stared down the jewelry store, not noticing the glances from others. Whispers of admiration were being spoken, not that he noticed. He took slow steps inside as he glanced around the lavish store nervously.

"Hello, how may we-" The store clerk cut herself off when she saw who had walked into her store. "M-Makoto Naegi-san?! P-Please enjoy what we have to offer!" She bowed her head to him, causing him to smile awkwardly. He never did get used to the attention he got after beating Junko...

"Uh, Naegi-kun is fine, thanks. I'm just looking for..." He paused, taking a moment to really comprehend what he was saying. "...an engagement ring. The best you have."

Now, don't get the wrong idea; he _wanted_ to get married and he knew _who_ he wanted to marry, but he faced a number of problems when it came to this.

For one, they had never even been on a date. Now while he understood this woman wasn't exactly 'normal' when it came to relationships (in a good way, of course), he wasn't sure how she'd react to a straight-up marriage proposal.

The second part? Asking her to marry in the first place. The idea of him and her...'dating' was strange to him, yet he seemed all to comfortable with the idea of marriage. That said, he didn't know how she felt about the subject. After the attack on Future Foundation, they became closer than ever, but he had always been unsure on if she thought of him the same way, or if she only considered him a close friend.

He'd taken risks before, and it was time for another one.

"Oh, just wait a moment sir!" She rushed off to the back of the store and came back a few seconds later with a gold card. "May I direct you to our top of the line catalog? This will allow you to purchase items usually reserved for the high-class! Normally, we'd charge a hefty fee, but I doubt my manager would have much of an issue with me giving this to you for free."

He shook his head with a smile. "No, that's alright. I don't want to take advantage of you or anything."

"Alright, if you insist..." She held onto the card and instead directed Naegi to their most well-reviewed rings. "These rings in particular are well loved by our customers! Take a look!" Naegi looked at the display cases carefully, examining each one to minute detail. Finally, his eyes landed on one in particular, the silver ring stunning him.

"Ah, are you interested in our Willow Diamond Ring? Simple, yet elegant in design."

"It's perfect! I'll take it!" He said happily, taking out his credit card. Luckily for him, saving the world, being the Headmaster of New Hope's Peak _and_ being in Future Foundation earns a guy a lot of money.

"Great, that'll be ¥550,000!"

* * *

 _One Hour Later..._

He took in a deep breath as he walked up the stairs of the apartment building. He wanted her to be the first to know, after all. Grinning when he saw her room, he knocked twice on the hard, wooden door.

"Komaru, open up!" He only had to wait a few seconds before the door opened, revealing Komaru Naegi, his little sister.

"Makoto, how are you? Everything okay?" She asked as she turned around to walk back into the apartment allowing Makoto to follow her. Closing the door behind him, he sighed in relief when he realized Toko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, wasn't there with her. He did intend for this to be a private conversation, after all.

"Yeah, everything's fine! I just...had some news for you." He didn't intend for it to come out in a way that made it seem worrying, but Komaru still gave him a look that showed her own worry to him.

"I-It's nothing bad, is it?" When Makoto shook his head, she sighed in relief. The both of them had been through far too much for something to come up now.

"The opposite, actually...which is why I wanted you to be the first to know." He sat on the couch in Komaru's living room, prompting his little sister to sit down next to him.

"You remember Ky- Kirigiri, right?" Komaru nodded.

"Of course I do! She's so cool!" Makoto nodded, a very faint blush visibly on his features.

"Yeah, so, what I wanted to talk to you about was...was..." He paused, the words struggling to come out. After a brief moment of awkward silence, he sighed, then reached into his pocket. He took out a black box and held it front of Komaru. She took it from him, then gasped when she opened the box.

"M-Makoto?! T-This is..."

"Yeah... Yeah, I know." Komaru stared at the ring for what seemed like hours, yet was only a few minutes. Then, a thought came to her.

"Wait, i didn't know you two were even involved! Where did this come from all of a sudden?!"

"Well, that's the thing... We're kind of...not...involved."

Silence again.

"...huh?"

"We're, uh...not dating, is what I meant."

And again.

"..."

A bead of sweat trickled down Makoto's forehead.

"How many other people have you told?" She said in an oddly calm tone.

"Huh? Oh, just you." She nodded, then closed the box and handed it back to Makoto.

"I was just about to ask what the heck you were thinking...but one look at your face tells me the whole story." He tilted his head slightly, a sign of his confusion. "You... You're actually in love with her, aren't you?" With no hesitation, he nodded.

"Well, then what's the problem? If you love her, all you gotta do is ask!"

 _That_ advice definitely shocked him. He expected something less...forward, from Komaru. She had definitely been a lot more confident since Towa City; this just seemed to be a result of her time there.

"That's...it? But, what if I mess up-"

"Impossible!" She stood up and smiled at her brother. "You can't get it wrong if it's the truth, can you?" He was shocked, to say the least. "I won't tell you to do it immediately, but you don't have to be so nervous when you do it! There's only one way for you to do this, so you can't get it wrong!"

Taking a moment to process her words, he smiled, then stood up and gave Komaru a hug.

"Thanks, Komaru. I appreciate it, really."

"You know, I was eventually gonna ask if you were interested in her, but I never knew you were already this deep in."

"Well, you know me..." Breaking the hug, they gave each other a knowing smile, and Komaru opened the door for Makoto to exit.

"If you need anything els, just let me know, 'kay?"

"Yeah, of course. See 'ya later, sis." Giving one last smile as Komaru closed the door, Makoto found the day was slowly ending as he saw the sun set. He had taken a day off for all of this, so of course he had to work tomorrow. He sighed as he walked back down to his car and opened the door, hoping to get back before night came. Most crime in the world had vanished, people being too scarred from The Tragedy to even consider crime, yet there were a few troublemakers here and there.

"Now I just have to figure out when I'm gonna do it..."

* * *

Makoto let out a deep sigh he didn't know he had been holding in as he fell on his bed inside of the new Future Foundation base. He had arranged a room there in case an emergency required his immediate attention; Kyoko, Asahina, Hagakure, Toko, and surprisingly even Togami had done the same.

Of course, he wasn't the one who made it so that his and Kyoko's room were right next to each other, but he had no complains. She wasn't there currently; she'd always be the last one out of all of them to show up, though not late enough to make them worry.

He had already hidden the engagement ring in his dresser, but still wished there was a better hiding spot for it. Anyone curious enough would recognize it almost immediately save Hagakure. Still, there was nowhere else for him to place it...

So, with all of his business handled, he shut his eyes and let himself drift to sleep.

Little did the Luckster know how dangerous sleeping was going to become for him from now on...

* * *

Makoto had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing what he was really seeing. Standing in front of him ever so proudly was the original Hope's Peak Academy. The sight itself sent a chill up his spine as memories from the first Killing Game infiltrated his mind. It wasn't as if he forgotten about it, but to have it be literally be standing there in front of him caused more than a few problems.

He assumed this to be a dream, and he was thankful; the old Hope's Peak Academy had been flawed in so many ways, even before The Tragedy. The Reserve Course in particular was a sore issue. Before Makoto could question why he would dream about this any further, a voice - a very familiar, cold, and evil voice came from behind him.

"Sucks to be back, am I right?" Makoto's entire body froze as his brain processed the owner of the voice. It took him nearly an entire minute to turn around and, even though he knew who he'd see, he still let out a gasp when they made eye contact.

"How's it going, 'Makoto Naegi-san'? God, that sounded gross..."

"J-Junko Enoshima!" He almost didn't believe the words he had spoken and backed up. There was no mistaking it; that hair, attitude, voice, body language, it was all _her._ Why would he dream about her?!

"I don't know either, but I definitely didn't expect to go from the movie theater in the afterlife to Mr. Herbivore's dreams." Makoto paused.

Did she just-

"Read your mind, yeah. I am kinda in it now, so duh!"

"W-Why-"

"Jeez, I already answered that genius! I. Don't. Know!"

Hold on...

"W-Wait, you're...you aren't just a part of my dream?" From the way Junko had been speaking, it had sounded like...

...like she was implying she was the _real_ Junko. Not a part of his dream, but the _real_ Junko Enoshima, stuck in his dream.

"Trust me, I'm not really getting it either. One second I'm playing blackjack with Celestia for who gets the thousand pits of fire this month, then the next I show up here. Oh well-"

"Wait... You went to Hell? Celes too?"

"Well, duh-"

"Didn't you just say you came from a movie theater?"

Silence.

"...if nothing's changed from when I was alive, it's how much I hate you." He flinched at the cold words.

"...so...what now?"

"Wanna fuck?"

To say Makoto paused would be a grand understatement. He did a visible double-take; not that he was considering her words, but because he was trying to process them.

"...huh?" The pig-tailed girl couldn't stifle her mocking laughter.

"Pfft! Jeez, I know you're a virgin, but come up with something better than 'huh' why don't you!"

"D-Didn't you just say you hated me?!"

"Yeah, so?" She said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was something that should've been obvious "Having sex with my _murderer_ should give some decent despair to me, after all."

Makoto's jaw dropped when she emphasized the 'murderer' part.

"B-But I-"

"Yeah, you tried to stop my execution; if you count trying as just saying "No don't!" and then immediately giving up when I shut you down. I figured you'd at least try a little harder to save your classmate! That hurts..." She made a 'kawaii' pouty face, yet that did nothing to ease Makoto's issues. "I had no idea you could hate someone so much Mako-"

"Of course I did!" Makoto rarely got angry, but this was proving to be one of those rare occasions. "You...you killed my friends...made us distrust each other...all because you wanted your sick satisfaction! I could never, ever forgive you for that!"

"Well, I never asked you to forgive me, I asked you to fu-"

"No!" His fists started to shake from how much anger he was feeling. Truthfully, Junko Enoshima was one of the very few people in the world Makoto had grown to _truly_ hate. It's not as if he didn't want to turn her around, make her see the wrong in her actions; he wanted to at _least_ finish that part of this entire ordeal! But, unfortunately, Junko Enoshima was something even he couldn't deal with. Not even her own sister was spared from her craziness.

"Hmph. Well, if anything _has_ changed from when I was alive, it'd be how big your balls are. Surely _Kyoko-chan_ noticed too?" Makoto grit his teeth at the mention of Kyoko. Junko wanted nothing more than to upset him while she was here and it was starting to get on his nerves.

"Look, if all you're going to do is bother me you can go away and let me dream in peace."

"Dream in peace? Have you forgotten where we are? The place where _I,_ Junko Enoshima, had your friends killed?"

"Tch...!" Makoto had enough; he began speed-walking in Junko's direction, then directly past her.

 _"You can't run from me."_ Her sudden change in tone caused Makoto's entire body to shudder. He didn't turn to face her, but he could still feel her cold, analytical gaze from behind. _"No matter what happens, no matter where you go, or who you meet... I'll always be there, watching, and waiting. The Killing Game isn't over."_ His eyes widened and, this time, he turned to face her with a determined glare, only to find her wearing a much more casual expression than her tone had revealed.

"What? Can't a girl get serious from time to time? Now, run along scamp! I got some exploring to do inside your head! I mean, if this turns out to be permanent I at least wanna know what I'm dealing with! Not that you weren't always an open book anyway..." Ignoring her last comment, the Luckster had to pause when he thought about the first part of her statement.

"Y-You can't stay here inside my mind! I swear you better be a dream-"

"Or what?" Was her only retort. And really, that's all she needed to say. Despite their hatred for one another, there was only so much they could do to the other here. Junko was rarely the type to resort to physical violence, usually letting Mukuro do all the work (which wasn't an option here for damn sure) and Makoto just wasn't the type of guy to throw punches either. And, unlike her, he didn't have a natural bite to his bark; any insult he threw meant nothing to her while she had a plethora of ways to get into his head. Aside from the literal way she _was_ in his head right now, of course.

The two simply stared each other down for what seemed like forever, yet was only a few minutes. Makoto was just hoping she wouldn't say anything more while Junko was looking for any reason to bother her nemesis even more than she already had.

"...Let's play a game." Makoto raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak. "I ask you a question, you respond, and I call out whether it's a truth or a lie. Pretty simple, right?" When Makoto made no move to respond, she continued. "Alright then, I'll start off with..." She put a hand to her chin, apparently not having thought the question through. With a snap, it seemed she had decided.

"If you discovered who Mukuro was before I killed her, what would you do?" Makoto blinked, then took a moment to seriously consider the question.

Mukuro Ikusaba was, to this day, a near mystery to him and the other survivors. They discovered no new information about her after they escaped from Hope's Peak. Makoto thought back to the Killing Game, as much as he didn't want to. It was obvious most of his interactions with Mukuro were staged, yet there were a few times when they spoke as if...she genuinely enjoyed his company? She _was_ the Ultimate Soldier, so it was possible she could've faked those and he hadn't known.

Then again, there was one incident that he knew for a fact _wasn't_ staged.

 _Her execution._

When she was stabbed by those spears summoned by Junko, she was genuinely surprised and... _hurt._ Looking back, he recognized that look of feeling betrayed, and he felt a pang of guilt hit him. Yes, she was Ultimate Despair, but he got the feeling that she was a lot more human than Junko.

"I'd...probably try to convince her that you were wrong, and that she shouldn't be helping you. Then again, I guess now she..." He clenched her fists. Was he...angry for Mukuro Ikusaba? He nor the other survivors had recalled their memories of Hope's Peak, but he knew from these emotions that he had truly considered Mukuro a friend back then.

"I thought so. That's _so_ much like you. Now... Ah, I know!" Makoto grimaced at the real possibility of Junko asking questions to make him question his morals. Before he thought to object, however, she asked her question.

"Would you save me if you could?" Her even voice made Makoto pause even before he heard the question all the way.

"Save...you?"

 _" Help me..."_ Makoto shuddered when he heard the crack in Junko's voice. Her eyes filled with worry and fear, it felt like she was looking to him for...help.

"I-I-"

"Just kidding," She yawned as she analyzed Makoto's features. "As if _you_ could save _me_! A laugh if I ever-"

"Yes." Now it was Junko's time to be surprised, if only for an instant. "I would save you and everyone else if I could. I may hate who you are right now...but I know that somewhere in that black heart of yours, you care for me and everyone else!" Junko went silent for an entire minute, then scoffed.

"The fact that you're telling the truth is pissing me off... Fine, next question. And this time, I'll make sure you don't piss me off..." The last part was muttered so low Makoto didn't even hear it, and he didn't stop to ask what she meant.

"Excluding me and Kirigiri, who was the hottest chick in our class?"

...

...

...

"...huh?"

"Pfft..." Junko held her hand to her mouth in an attempt to stop her laughter. "Go on, that should be easy for you, right? Or...are you thinking about it?" A faint blush came as he understood the implications of 'thinking about' this kind of question. As much as he didn't want to answer that, he knew this was a much better alternative to a question like the last one.

"U-Um..." He balled his fists at the thought of his other female classmates. Since Kyoko was excluded for whatever reason, he only had _two_ female classmates who were alive. The others...

Pushing that thought away, he forced himself to think about the question hoping Junko wouldn't antagonize him anymore.

Aoi Asahina.

He had to admit, the girl was worthy of all the 'praise' she got online for her looks. Not to mention her friendly, bubbly personality. They were close, even among the other survivors. He smiled at the thought, then remembered what the topic was.

...he'd be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her...well...

"Big ol' bitties, right?"

"S-Shut up!"

Okay, okay, next! So...

Toko Fukawa and Genocider...

Unlike popular opinion (popular opinion being Toko's insistence), he didn't find Toko ugly or gross (although he did dislike her stink like everyone else). In fact, he thought her long hair and glasses made her kind of pretty, in her own way. She was definitely _way_ too obsessive and vulgar, though.

And Genocider...

With a shudder, he moved on to the next.

Sakura Ogami.

Kind, strong, and a true friend, Makoto found himself smiling at all of the past interactions they had. They weren't much, which is why he was able to cherish them so. He hadn't been able to find himself attracted to her per se, but to him, that didn't matter. Her strength and kindness was unlike anything he'd ever seen, and he doubted he'd meet someone like that ever again in his life. He truly was glad they met.

"Come on, hurry it up!" Makoto smacked his lips as he remembered the Fashionista waiting on him. Sure, she could read his mind if she wanted to, but she seemed to not want to 'cheat' at the moment.

So, next was...

"Are you gonna do Chihiro?" Makoto froze.

...

...

...

"Let's...not tackle that subject, okay?"

"Are you only saying that because he would've been your top pick?"

...

...

...

Next would be...

Celestia Ludenberg.

Even if he had known her real name, he wanted to respect the fact that she hated her name, and referred to her as the made-up name for that reason, even in his head. Now, Makoto had to admit that although Celes had her own 'quirks' (even for Ultimate standards) and had an anger akin to a demon, he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy time spent with her during the Killing Game. She even promised to promote him to 'B-Rank' when this all blew over.

Whatever that meant...

Still, even if they weren't among the closest of friends, he had to admit that Celes' own beauty was nearly unrivaled. He often found himself staring when they were both in the same room, and had to avert his gaze when it seemed like she caught him. If she did, she never said anything.

He really did miss everyone...

Next on the list...

...Sayaka Maizono.

He knew he had to get to this point eventually, but it was never easy thinking about her. His first real...

She was beautiful in her own right no doubt, and she had a personality like no other. If the Killing Game didn't happen, he had to wonder...would he have gotten this ring for Sayaka instead of Kyoko? Before he could finish that thought, Junko smirked.

"Well?"

"I...can't." Junko frowned, but was cut off before speaking. "It feels wrong to think about them like that, trying to assign value to them based on looks alone. They were my friends...my close friends..." He unconsciously moved his hand to his hest, taking in a few deep breaths. "...and you took them away." With sudden realization, Makoto looked Junko dead in the eye, only to see the girl had a stoic expression herself.

"Y-You...asked that question...just to make me hate you even more?" Junko smiled and tilted her head to the side.

"I have _no_ idea what you mean Makoto! And since that was such a 'You' answer, I'll say you told the truth on that one! Well, since you copped out of that one, I'll give you another question!"

"How many more-"

"Me or Kirigiri?"

He blinked.

"Why do you think I excluded the both of us from the other question? It'd be unfair if-"

"Kyoko." Makoto said with no hesitation.

"Oh, how unexpected!" She said in a mocking tone, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Look, if you have another question then-"

"Lie."

He blinked again.

"What're you-"

"I said you're lying. After all, I actually have a one-up on Kirigiri, so you're probably just lying unconsciously." Now it was Makoto's turn to be surprised.

"One-up? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, right, wiped your memories... How about I remind you?" Junko walked towards Makoto until they were right in each other's face, then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "When I called you a virgin, it was kind of an inside joke for us. After all..." Her voice became suspiciously low, almost seductive. _"You were my first."_

...

"W-What?!" He took a few too many steps back and ended up falling flat on his butt. His face was completely beet red as he looked up at a somewhat drooling Junko.

"The reason I asked you to fuck me earlier is because I missed it... That feeling of when a completely average and boring guy like you did it to me..." She crouched down to his level, then straddled him on the ground. "It made me feel so _alive._ Back when we were all attending Hope's Peak Academy, you and I fucked in the janitor's closet, the classrooms, pretty much everywhere. And each and every time just got better and better... Now that you know that," Junko let out a malicious grin that spread across her entire face. "How can you face your precious Kirigiri now that you've already fucked the one who killed her fathe-!"

 ** _*SLAP*_**

Though it were all a dream, if it had been _real,_ surely everyone would've heard the loud smack that rang out. A red hand print adorned Junko's face while Makoto's outstretched right palm burned, but that didn't matter.

"You're... You're lying! Even if I didn't know who you really were at the time, there's no way I would've-!"

 _"But you did."_ The calmness in her voice unnerved Makoto more than ever before. "Way back when, before any of this happened, you even said you loved me. How sickeningly sweet...and painful. Why else did you recognize the differences between Mukuro and I the very first time you laid eyes on her during the Killing Game?" Makoto gasped. "Surely you didn't attribute that to you two being friends or something? No..." Her face loomed closer until their noses were touching.

 _"It's because you loved me."_

The two did nothing but stare at each other, trying to read the other. Well, Junko didn't have to try to read Makoto. His face showed doubt, disgust, anger, shame... All of those left her feeling a despair she hadn't felt in a long time. However, she didn't rub it in his face. She didn't say a word. They just say there like that. Wordlessly, Junko pressed her lips against Makoto's, not so much kissing him as simply touching. She wanted to see the despair on his face as his body betrayed his heart, and his heart would betray his mind.

Silently, a hand went to the buttons on her cardigan as she unbuttoned each one in a slow, seductive manner. Her chest would be left exposed while pressing into Makoto. Then, she hiked up her skirt and 'adjusted' herself so he would be poking at her entrance.

" _I. Want. You."_ Makoto knew he could stop this at any time, and truthfully his heart and mind were screaming at him to. Yet at the same time, they were screaming at him to do this, as if they _missed_ this.

 _"I..."_ Makoto closed his eyes in an attempt to stave off the temptation, but it just wouldn't work. The way her body was pressed up against his, the sincere primal confession of her need, and the physical reminders of their apparent past together...

Slowly, he opened his eyes and-

* * *

"Ah!" Makoto sat up in a cold sweat, gripping the sheets so hard he was surprised he hadn't torn them in his sleep. His breathing ragged, he started coughing and practically jumped off the bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. His shaking hands turned on the faucet and he splashed some much needed water on his face. After a thorough cleansing, he got a good look at himself in the mirror and felt some bile rise up, along with a hint of shame.

His boxers were most definitely sporting a somewhat wet, pitched tent that brought him back to the dream. It was all so vivid he could recall everything that happened in it.

 _"Everything, huh? Does that mean you wanna finish?"_ His tired eyes shot open and, through the mirror, saw Junko standing behind him, nuzzling into his neck while one hand made towards his lower regions. He turned around, only to see no one there.

"What... What's going on?" He grit his teeth and held his head down, struggling to take in what had just happened. Dreaming about Junko was one thing, hallucinating about her was another.

And the shame he felt didn't help him at all.

His knees gave way as he sank to the ground, and his knuckles turning white from how hard he was clenching them.

"Junko Enoshima... Did I really...?" A look of horror came on his face as he got up and ran to his bedroom. Moving to his dresser, he opened it and froze when he saw the black box in there.

"I can't ask her like this, not yet... I have to...beat her again...on my own." But, there was a problem in that, he knew. This was a battle unlike any other, a battle of the heart.

And unfortunately, he didn't even know whose side he was on.

 **Thanks for reading this guys! I initially meant to do this as a one-shot lemon, but then as I went on I thought about making a full-fledged story out of it! Tell me what you think so far, and leave a review if you want! Hope to see you all soon!**


End file.
